


swear on the river styx

by starryboy



Series: you've begun to feel like home [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Fluff, M/M, chenle is pretty, jisung is dumb, maybe idk, renjun could kill you if he wanted and we love him for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-11 22:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15982253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryboy/pseuds/starryboy
Summary: Jisung’s high school career has been pleasantly mundane. Or, about as mundane as a demigod going to a mortal high school can be.That is, until he meets Chenle.





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> . i don't know what this is
> 
> i've had the idea for awhile and it's been months since i wrote chensung so here u go i guess pls enjoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jisung’s high school career has been pleasantly mundane. or, about as mundane as a demigod going to a mortal high school can be. 
> 
> that is, until he meets chenle.

Jisung’s high school career has been pleasantly mundane. Or, about as mundane as a demigod going to a mortal high school can be. 

He makes it work, though, trying his best to fit in and not bring any attention to himself. It’s hard at times, on the days where there’s a random monster attack on his way to school, and he gets injured while not having any ambrosia on hand, and has no idea how to explain that to his teachers and peers.

Though there’s one part about high school that puts him off. It’s not something he can explain, he honestly can’t put his finger on why he feels odd, but a weird feeling follows him around most days.

It all started on a tuesday. They aren’t bad days necessarily, but this tuesday left him with a bad feeling in his stomach.

“Okay class! I’d like you to welcome our new student, Chenle!” 

Judging by the kids reaction (he flinched, but still smiled wide at her and said thank you, making it down halfway in a bow before remembering that that’s not a tradition in america) she butchered the pronunciation, but he doesn’t correct her, just makes his way to the nearest empty seat that just so happens to be next to Jisung.

Great.

The boy sits down, and Jisung feels a wave of something wash over him. Jisung freezes, feelings like this usually only come out when he’s battling it out with some monster. Chenle smiles at him and he pushes his chair away from the boy, the screech of the chair sliding against the floor sounds out loudly throughout the entire classroom.

Chenle frowns and Jisung feels a teensy bit bad until he realizes that the new kid might be some monster in disguise, then he doesn’t feel so bad anymore.

(That’s a lie, Jisung has a soft spot for pretty boys, and Chenle fits that to a tee.)

-

“I’m pretty sure there’s a monster in my first hour,” Jisung drops his tray onto the table in front of his usual seat. Sliding into the chair and looking up with wide eyes at his friends.

“Yeah, his name is Jisung,” Renjun snatches Jisung’s cookie off of his tray.

He whines. “Hey, give it back Renjun! And I’m not the monster, the new kid is!”

Renjun just shrugs at him, tearing off the plastic before taking a huge bite. Jisung pouts, mourning the loss of his cookie, wondering why in the hell he’s still friends with Renjun.

(Jisung remembers last summer at camp when one of the Ares kids insulted Renjun’s mom, and then told him, “ _You shouldn’t even be here, what would a monster want with a wimpy child of Hecate that can’t even do anything_.” 

Let’s just say, it’s been over a year, and Jisung isn't even sure the kid’s out of the infirmary yet.)

All in all, Renjun’s powerful, and anybody that messes with him is an idiot asking for a death sentence, and Jisung is neither an idiot nor asking for a death sentence.

Jisung stays quiet about his cookie, he treasures his life, thank you very much, and would like to live at least until he gets his Red Velvet album in the mail. He perks up a bit after hearing Mark’s loud laugh project through the cafeteria.

Mark and Jeno are walking their way towards the other two boys, waving and saying hello to practically the entire student body. Jisung rolls his eyes, Mark and Jeno are the heartthrobs of both Camp Half-Blood and their miserable high school.

Jeno is a child of Hermes; he has this dorky, older brother personality that makes everyone swoon, maybe even Jisung at times. Mark, on the other hand, is the son of Poseidon, and nobody can resist a child of the Big Three.

That is unless said child is Jisung and the son of Hades. Most people don’t swoon over him, they’re just afraid or think he’s creepy.

Which he’s not, creepy that is, Jisung’s just shy and doesn’t know how to talk to people.

Jisung blames his dad for that _brilliant_ aspect of his personality. He sure as hell didn’t get it from his mom who could entertain dozens of people at a time with the most beautiful and real smile on her face.

Whenever someone tries to talk to him he just sort of grimaces and hopes the ground will swallow him whole. Sometimes it actually happens, when his dad wants to do an impromptu family dinner or lunch. Jisung’s incredibly glad that the mist exists on those days.

“There’s a new kid and I’m pretty sure he’s a monster,” Jisung says immediately after the two sit down.

Mark frowns, “Really? Are you sure Sungie?” 

“Yes! He makes me feel weird and I usually only get that feeling around monsters so,” he trails off, waving his hands like the rest of his sentence is obvious. Renjun laughs at him and he sends a glare the older boy’s way.

“Maybe you just think he’s a cute mortal and your socially awkward ass doesn’t know how to deal with it,” Renjun wiggles his eyebrows at Jisung before stealing Jeno’s milk carton. 

Jisung pouts. “Just because he’s cute doesn’t mean he can’t be a monster!”

“So you admit that you think he’s cute?” Renjun smirks at him and Jeno laughs. 

Jisung sighs, admitting defeat, and shovels some applesauce into his mouth. Right as he spoons too much into his mouth Chenle walks past their table. There’s an aura to him that knocks the air out of his chest, and Jisung chokes when Chenle sends him a sweet smile. 

It quickly turns to concern when he sees Jisung struggle to breath, Mark slapping him on the back. Jisung finally swallows and sends what he hopes is a smile back, but knowing him it was just another grimace. Chenle giggles, biting his lip, and then walks away, heading to toss out the remnants of his lunch. 

“Bro, you good?” Mark asks him, eyes flitting between Jisung’s red face and Chenle walking out of the cafeteria.

“I told you he was a monster,” Jisung wheezes out, still trying to catch his breath.

Renjun bursts out laughing and Jeno follows suit. “Yeah, okay Jisung.”

-

Jisung’s next encounter with Chenle leaves him disoriented. 

It happened while he was running down one of the school’s hallways trying to get away from a very angry Renjun. Jeno used his damn persuasive skills to get him to steal one of Renjun’s favorites blades as payback for yesterday when Renjun manipulated the mist to make it seem like Jeno failed his math test.

Jisung thought he was getting better at saying no to Jeno’s hermes kid abilities, but it seems he was mistaken.

He’s currently trying to open a door to a dark hallway he knows he can use to shadow travel out of the school when footsteps approach him.

“What are you doing?” he hears a voice behind him. Jisung freezes and turns around, prepared to be yelled at by a teacher, but instead he’s faced with Chenle.

“Running from my friends,” Jisung says, slightly out of breath.

Chenle raises his eyebrows at Jisung, and then turns his attention to the door, “That’s locked.”

“Yeah, I know, but it’s my only way of avoiding Renjun and trust me, you do not want to see an angry Renjun,” Jisung pauses, shivering, before tacking on, “Do you know how to pick a lock?”

The shorter laughs before motioning for him to get out of the way. Chenle kneels in front of the lock, eyes flitting towards Jisung who’s watching him intently, before shifting so Jisung can’t see the lock. He does _something_ for a couple seconds, and then stands back up, brushing off the front of his jeans.

“Got it,” Chenle winks at Jisung and then twists the door knob, opening the door.

Jisung doesn’t have to chance to voice his surprisal because as soon as the door swings open a teacher walks through.

“What are you two doing?” he asks, lips curled into a snarl.

Jisung freezes, brain desperately trying to find an excuse, when Chenle speaks up. “Oh! I’m so sorry, we must have gotten the room number wrong,” he sheepishly scratches the back of his head, sending the adult a soft smile that makes Jisung weak at the knees. “I’m kinda new, I must’ve given Jisung the wrong room number.”

The teacher looks back and forth between Chenle and Jisung before shaking his head, “Don’t let it happen again.”

Chenle nods enthusiastically, assuring him that it won’t, and grabs Jisung by the arm, leading him away.

Jisung stops him once they reach the end of the hallway, looking back towards the teacher when he realizes the adult somehow disappeared in the five seconds it took them to walk away, “Uh, thanks, but i kinda have to go. You know, murderous friend chasing me and everything.”

“Of course,” Chenle giggles, and Jisung’s head whips back towards him, mouth drying at the sight of the other, “Good luck Jisung, please don’t die, math wouldn’t be very fun without you.”

He winks at Jisung again before disappearing down the next hallway. Jisung watches him go, mind replaying their entire encounter when he realizes something.

One, Chenle didn’t use anything to unlock the door, somehow getting it to open without any tools, and two, he got them both out of detention with the strictest teacher in the world with just a smile.

If he wasn’t sure that Chenle was a monster before, he’s definitely convinced now. 

-

Staying late after school because Renjun, Jeno, and Mark are good students and participate in clubs is Jisung’s least favorite part of high school. He usually just sits in the library and waits, but today it’s closed for some reason, so Jisung’s just wandering the halls as he waits.

He’s heading in the direction of the cafeteria when he hears a loud bang. Jisung furrows his eyebrows, but continues on his way, assuming it’s just the janitors dropping something.

That is, until he hears it again, except this time it’s louder, and more like the noise a pissed off monster makes. _Fuck._

Jisung walks into the cafeteria and is confronted with the sight of a very real and very angry monster. He curses under his breath, yanking his necklace off his neck and stalking his way forward as it turns into a sword. 

He knew Chenle was a monster, there was no way the very pretty boy that seemed kinda into him was human. Though, Jisung does feel a teensy bit bad about having to, you know, kill him and send his soul to the depths of Tartarus.

The monster roars, shaking the rafters of the building, and Jisung smirks, cockily swinging the sword around before getting into a proper fight stance. 

“What the fuck,” Jisung stops dead in his tracks when he hears the voice. He knows that voice incredibly well, Jisung melts when he hears that voice.

He thought that voice was currently in monster form, so why is Chenle standing at the entrance of the lunchroom, eyes trained not on the horrifying monster but on Jisung’s sword.

Chenle’s eyes widen and before Jisung knows it he’s being flung against a wall. The monster roars again, eyes trained on Jisung’s body on the floor. 

Fuck, he’s fighting a monster that he thought was a cute boy in front of said cute boy and getting his ass kicked. This is not Jisung’s idea of a great thursday. 

Chenle runs up to him, still not paying any attention to the monster, which of course he isn’t, he can’t even see it considering he’s just a mortal.

“Oh my god, Jisung, are you okay?” he asks, hands trailing around Jisung’s torso, checking for blood.

‘Yeah, I’m good,” Jisung looks up at Chenle who looks unfairly pretty right now before the monster yells again, putting the attention back on it. Chenle finally looks in the direction of the monster and his eyes widen and then he squints in confusion.

Jisung sighs, getting up off the ground and dusting off his shirt. Chenle, bless his heart, tries to push Jisung behind him, putting himself in between the monster and him.

“Chenle this is nice and all but you’re just a mortal, let me take care of this,” Chenle whips his head around to look at Jisung, eyes set in a glare. He doesn’t get the chance to say something back before Jisung’s running off in the direction of the monster.

Chenle yells for Jisung to get back here and explain, but Jisung doesn’t listen, too focused on landing a few blows on the monster.

“Chenle you need to leave, like right now,” Jisung pulls back from the fight, a little bit dizzy, but body still hyper focused on the monster.

Chenle looks at him like he’s out of his mind, “The fuck you mean i have to leave, I’m the only way we’re getting out of this alive!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I swear if your dumb, but very cute, mortal ass gets me killed I will be so pissed,” Jisung pants out, head a little too disoriented from the blow earlier to be having a conversation right now, not to mention the elephant in the room.

“Quit calling me a mortal, what are you a shitty video game villain?” Chenle asks, exasperated.

Jisung sighs, eyes flicking back to the monster gearing up for another attack, “Swear on the River Styx you won’t get me killed.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

Jisung rolls his eyes, running back towards the monster, sword gleaming in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the windows, not caring enough to get a response.

Chenle huffs in the background, diving towards his backpack. Jisung, thanks to his very convenient demigod powers, aka ADHD, manages to avoid most of the monsters attacks.

That is, until his eyes unconsciously wander to where Chenle should be standing, then the monster catches him off guard and knocks him to the floor. It stalks toward him, disgusting mouth curled into a familiar smirk. He reaches for his sword but it’s out of reach.

Jisung’s out of options with no sword or backup, the monster steps on his chest, and he can’t breathe.

Suddenly, the monster freezes, and then disintegrates. Jisung gasps, gulping down air, when he looks up to see Chenle standing their, two blades in his hands, looking incredibly pissed.

Chenle flips both blades and Jisung watches as they turn into two rings. He slips them on his fingers, staring at Jisung like he doesn’t know what to say. 

Jisung’s fucked, if Chenle wasn’t his type before, with his pretty _everything_ , he definitely is now. He’s always had a thing for pretty boys that are good with swords and can kick his ass.

“What are you,” Jisung asks, voice hoarse.

Chenle squints, “i’m Chenle Zhong, son of Mercury. What are you?”

“Jisung Park, son of Hades.”

There’s a loud bang heard throughout the cafeteria, though neither of them turn to look for the cause.

“Oh my god, he’s a fucking Roman,” Renjun screeches, hitting Jeno repeatedly on the shoulder.

That gets Chenle’s attention; he turns to look at the newcomers, jaw set like he’s expecting another attack. Chenle surveys the trio, apparently finding nothing to be concerned about because he relaxes, holding a hand out to Jisung to help him up.

Jisung takes his hand (they’re really soft) and allows himself to be pulled to his feet. He coughs a bit, chest hurting from the attack, and Chenle looks at him worriedly. 

Chenle opens his mouth to say something but is cut off. “Wait, did you say Mercury?” 

They both turn to look at Jeno. “Yeah, I did,” Chenle says cautiously, eyes flicking back at Jisung.

“Yo, little brother!” Jeno’s eyes light up as he walks forward, pulling Chenle into a tight hug. Chenle squeaks and Jisung giggles, though his mind still hasn’t wrapped completely around the situation.

Chenle pulls back first, “Hello?”

“Jeno Lee, son of Hermes,” he smiles proudly, and then furrows his brow, turning back to Renjun. “Wait, are we still brothers even if he’s Roman?”

Renjun walks forwards towards them, dragging Mark along with him, “Yeah, I think he does,” he says it softly, smiling at the two boys. Jeno smiles, ruffling Chenle’s hair before stepping back.

“Am I the only one who isn’t sure what’s going on right now?” Jisung asks, pouting slightly.

Chenle laughs softly, bringing a hand up to smooth down Jisung’s hair. “I’m a demigod, you’re a demigod, got any questions?”

Jisung sighs. “When my dad told me to go to an actual school this year because I’d have fun was this the _fun_ he was talking about?”

“Are you saying I’m not fun Jisung?” Chenle teases, eyebrows raised.

Everyone laughs and Renjun asks if Chenle wants to get dinner with them. He says yes, and the three older boys turn around and make their way out of the semi destroyed lunch room.

Chenle starts walking too, but turns around when he doesn’t hear any footsteps following him. “Jisung, you coming?”

“I thought all I was gonna have to deal with this year was Jeno and Renjun’s obvious crush on each other and the pretty boy in my math class that I thought was a monster,” he pauses, turning to look at Chenle’s flushed and pouty face. “Now i have to deal with the first thing and a Roman.”

He lifts his head and says, “Thank the gods,” in the most sarcastic tone he can manage, before turning his attention back to Chenle.

“You thought I was a monster?” he asks, cheeky smile on his face.

“A very pretty monster,” he corrects, walking forwards to bump Chenle’s shoulder with his own. 

They’re both blushing, and Chenle’s biting his lip. his eyes flick up from where he’s looking down at the ground to look at Jisung, hand grabbing Jisung’s own.

Jisung’s face gets impossibly redder, head turning away from Chenle, embarrassed. Chenle giggles at his reaction, and Jisung joins in when they hear a distant scream of _hurry up lovebirds!_ from Renjun. 

They start to leave the cafeteria, stopping so Jisung can pick up his bookbag. Chenle swings their connected hands as they walk, and Jisung thinks that he could get used to this.

Being friends with a Roman demigod sounds cool, and a tiny voice in the back of his head says that having a Roman boyfriend sounds even cooler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hoped you liked this uwu ill get the next chapter up sometime soon!
> 
> feel free to leave comments or send stuff to my cc if u want


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it’s not a date. 
> 
> those are the four words jisung’s been repeating like a mantra all day.

A normal day in Jisung’s life consists of this; wake up, meet Chenle at school, stare at Chenle while he talks about some cool Roman thing that Jisung doesn’t understand (probably because he’s, you know, thinking about how pretty Chenle is instead of paying attention), go to class, sit with Chenle at lunch, hang out with Chenle after school, go to bed thinking about Chenle.

Basically, his life is just Chenle, Chenle, Chenle, Chenle, and he’s not even mad about it. 

When Chenle was just this strange new kid that Jisung was pretty sure was a monster it was easy to bury his feelings of _oh, he’s cute_ but now that they’re friends it’s getting harder and harder to. 

Exhibit A: It’s a friday after school, sadly Chenle wasn’t able to come over to hang out today because he was called back to Camp Jupiter to do Roman things. Jisung’s restless, puttering around his room, tidying up random parts of his room, his eyes randomly flitting over to his plugged in phone on his nightstand.

Chenle promised he’d call after he settled back into his room, but as the hours go by Jisung grows more and more weary, thinking that maybe the elder forgot. Groaning, he falls face first onto his bed, shoving his head into a pillow as his groans become louder. 

Jisung’s about to go for another round of his pity parade when his phone rings. He shoots up, hair a disheveled mess, and lunges for his phone.

“Hello,” his voice comes out scratchy, probably from all the groaning, and he cringes, not really wanting Chenle to hear that.

Chenle doesn’t seem to care, “Hey Sungie! Sorry, I took so long things ran longer than I expected,” Jisung hears faint giggles from Chenle’s side, but doesn’t pay them any attention.

“It’s okay Lele, how was your day?” Chenle smiles at his words, not that he can see it, but Jisung can hear it in his voice when he starts recounting his day.

Chenle tells him about New Rome, how beautiful it is, how much he enjoyed growing up there. He came to the camp when he was pretty young, having six lines burned onto his arm as of this year, it’s his home, not New York, even though that’s where he’s going to school.

“I wanted a change of scenery,” Chenle says wistfully when Jisung asks why he came here instead of staying in California, “I’ve been in New Rome all of my life, I wanted to experience something else, feel independent for once. They chose New York because it’s close to Camp Half-Blood in case of an emergency.”

“What was it like growing up in New Rome?” Jisung stops himself from asking which one he prefers, he knows the answer already.

Chenle laughs and Jisung feels his heart melt, “Oh Jisung, it was wonderful.” 

He tells Jisung of life as a legionnaire, of the war games they played in the Field of Mars, and how much fun Chenle finds them. Deathball, surprisingly, is his favorite out of the lot of them, which Jisung pales at the idea of Chenle running around a field shooting others with acid, poison, and fireballs.

Honestly, that being Chenle’s favorite makes sense to Jisung, for some reason.

“New Rome itself,” Chenle pauses, and Jisung can hear him shifting on his bed through the phone, “is so cool. It’s like a mini city; there are stores, places you can shop and have a good time with your friends.” 

He perks up, and if Jisung closes his eyes he could probably see a sleepy Chenle lounging on his bed with wide eyes as he remembers something important, “There’s this bakery! It’s my favorite; they make the best sweets ever. I want to take you there sometime,” Chenle trails off and Jisung blushes, “not just to the bakery, but i want to show you around my home.”

The idea of walking around New Rome with Chenle, the older boy showing Jisung his home is so intimate to Jisung it makes goosebumps prickle across his skin. _It sounds almost like a date_ —Jisung cuts off that line of thought immediately, not wanting to spend the rest of his time with Chenle a flustered mess.

“I’d like that,” Jisung’s voice, no matter how much he tries, still sounds annoyingly fond. It’s a very bad habit that he’s gotten that his friends have picked up on, now they spend most of their time making fun of how infatuated Jisung is with Chenle and the blush that seems to always make its way onto Jisung’s cheeks when he thinks about the other boy.

Jisung’s about to say something else when he gets cut off by someone of Chenle’s side of the line. He can’t quite hear what they’re saying but what he can hear is the pout in Chenle’s voice. Chenle has an adorable pout, he does it quite a lot too, and it leaves Jisung feeling giddy inside when Chenle pouts. 

His mind can’t help but go into uncharted territory, thinking about how nice it’d be to feel those plump lips against his own, maybe tangle his fingers into Chenle’s hair, feeling the other boy up against his own body—

“Jisung? Sungie you there?” 

His eyes widen, scrambling to figure out what they were talking about, “Shit—Yeah i’m here, sorry.”

“No it’s fine, I’m kinda tired too, maybe we should call it a night?”

Jisung doesn’t want to, he wants to listen to Chenle tell him more about New Rome, his childhood, himself, but that’d be selfish, Chenle needs sleep, and so does Jisung. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. Good night Chenle.”

Chenle giggles, at what Jisung doesn’t know, he just appreciates the sound. It’s one of his favorite sounds. “Good night Jisung, I’ll call you in the morning.”

Jisung sighs when Chenle ends the call, raising his hands to wipe at his face. He’s realized two things today. One, he’s so whipped for Chenle, and two, Jisung really, really, wants to kiss him.

-

The first thing Chenle does when he gets back from Camp Jupiter is invite himself into Jisung’s house and eat all of his snacks. 

Seriously, Jisung walks into his room after a day with Renjun, Mark, and Jeno to find Chenle lounging on his bed, hand shoved into a box of cheez-its that Jisung knows he hid very well. How Chenle found them, he’s not sure, maybe it’s his son of Mercury blood showing through.

“Hello to you too Chenle, how are you enjoying my cheez-its?” Jisung sighs, shrugging off his jacket and tossing it onto his desk chair before flopping down next to Chenle.

Chenle makes a noise of surprise in the back on his throat, quickly pulling the box away from Jisung. “Are you trying to make me spill these all over your bed?”

Jisung laughs at Chenle’s pouty expression, reaching over Chenle’s body to grab at the box. He doesn’t move once he pulls out a couple of them, instead placing them in his mouth and then returning his hand to the side of Chenle’s head, holding himself up, and effectively trapping Chenle underneath him.

Chenle gasps softly when Jisung gently lays himself on top of him. His eyes search Jisung’s for _something_ , but ultimately seems to not find the answer he was looking for, instead bringing a hand up to lay on the small of Jisung’s back.

It’s Jisung’s turn to be surprised. Chenle’s hand on his back has sirens going off in his head, yelling at him to pull away, that he’s too close, but he doesn’t want to. He likes being close to Chenle, seeing him all up close and personal, being able to study his face and memorise everything. 

Chenle smiles up at him, eyes sparkling with the brightest of stars. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Jisung blushes and wills himself to look away, but he can’t, Chenle is too mesmerizing.

Chenle hums as an answer, bringing his hand not on Jisung’s back up to his face to brush Jisung’s bangs out of his eyes. 

“Are you free tomorrow,” Jisung blurts out and immediately regrets it. His outburst shakes them out of the calm aura that was surrounding them, but Chenle just smiles at him and nods his head. “I want to show you around, maybe take you on a walk through the park I grew up playing in.” 

Jisung stops, realizing how dumb his words are. “I—I mean like, I just want to show you my home,” he finishes lamely, sending Chenle a tight lipped smile.

“I’d love that, a lot actually,” Jisung doesn’t think he’s ever seen Chenle smile this wide, and the fact that he’s the cause leaves him with a swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

Jisung smiles back, albeit his smile isn’t nearly as wonderful as Chenle’s in his opinion (if you asked Chenle, he’d say Jisung was a liar and his smile is just as, if not even more, wonderful), and pushes himself off of the older.

“Do you wanna watch a movie,” he asks, already reaching for the remote because he knows that Chenle’s going to say yes.

Chenle stays silent, acting like he’s weighing his options. “Hm, I don’t know,” he smirks at Jisung and he knows he’s a goner, “can we cuddle?”

Jisung opens his mouth to respond, but then shuts it so he can avoid saying the equivalent of a keyboard smash as a response. Instead he nods shyly, handing the remote to Chenle so he can pick out what he wants to watch, and turns around, facing away from Chenle.

Chenle raises an eyebrow at him, confused, but realization slowly dawns on his face. “Jisung Park you are full of surprises aren’t you?”

Jisung doesn’t reply, just shifts around to make himself comfortable. Chenle flicks through Netflix before settling on a random movie Jisung doesn’t know the name of. He sets the remote down on the nightstand and wraps his arms around Jisung’s waist and pulling him into his chest. 

Jisung whines, burrowing his head in his pillow, but otherwise doesn’t complain. Chenle raises his head slightly to place a gentle kiss on the top of Jisung’s head and then settles into the bed, eyes trained on the tv, oblivious to Jisung’s internal screaming. 

Eventually, Jisung relaxes, letting himself melt in Chenle’s arms. If he feels Chenle kiss his neck gently he doesn’t voice it, just shuts his eyes and enjoys the feeling. The comfortableness of the situation makes him sleepy, and he eventually gives into that feeling and falls asleep. 

-

It’s not a date. 

Those are the four words Jisung’s been repeating like a mantra all day. 

The first time he said them was to his mom at breakfast when she asked what he was doing today and he so foolishly rambled about all the places he’s going to take Chenle.

“Aw, Jisung. I’m so proud of you for finally asking him out,” she reaches over to pinch Jisung’s cheek while he’s staring at her in shock, not being able to properly form words. “Have fun on your date!”

“It’s not a date!” Jisung yells back. He’s too late though, her figure having already retreated into the living room.

The second time was when he was on facetime with Mark. He wanted the elder to help him pick out an outfit not cry while he babbled about how much Jisung’s grown up.

“Mark, seriously, can you stop crying and, I don’t know, maybe do what I asked you to do and help me?” Jisung throws the sweater he was considering onto the bed, he’s frustrated, why picking out an outfit to wear to a _hangout_ with his _friend_ is so difficult, he doesn’t know. 

(Maybe it’s because deep down he knows it’s more than just a _hangout_ with his _friend._ )

“It’s not my fault you’re so grown up now. I remember back when we first met, ah everyone was so scared of you, but I never was,” he can see Mark’s tiny smiling face on the screen, and it makes him feel a little warmer inside, “and now you’re going on your first date.” 

Mark isn’t lying; he was probably the only person that wasn’t scared of him after they found out who he was. Mark was the same back then as he is now, with his soft smile that somehow always makes bad days seem better, and powerful aura to him that scared Jisung at first (he’d never met another child of the Big Three before he met Mark, being in front of someone equally as powerful as him, especially someone that was actually properly trained, scared him to the bone) but now is overshadowed by his dorky nature. 

Fifteen year old Mark was the first person that knew about his father and was still kind to him. Jisung knew from the moment Mark held out his hand to him even after he opened up a hole straight to the underworld to get rid of the monster chasing the trio that he was different. 

Different in the way he seemed to actually care about Jisung, asking him if he was okay because he knew that something like that takes a lot out of a person, handing him a small piece of ambrosia to help him regain his strength. Different when he told Renjun to knock it off when the boy brought up leaving Jisung so they could finish their quest, reminding him of the prophecy. 

Nineteen year old Mark still cares about him, just even more than he did when they first met. He’s not loud about it, preferring to show his affections in small displays, like texting him goodnight every night and asking about his day or talking about how much he’s grown since they first met with a proud look in his eyes. 

“I love you too Mark, now can you please help me pick out an outfit? And it’s not a date!”

-

Okay, maybe it’s a date. Or maybe not, Jisung doesn’t know anymore. All he knows is that Chenle looks really pretty, smiled really wide when he picked the elder up, and he immediately grabbed Jisung’s hand when they started on their way to the park. 

“I still don’t know my way around this town,” Chenle tells him, squeezing Jisung’s hand while he looks around trying to memorize his surroundings.

Chenle’s face is turned away from him, admiring the trees around them, and it gives Jisung the perfect opportunity to openly stare at him. “That’s okay, I’ll try to help.”

The rest of the walk is quiet, but not uncomfortable, which Jisung appreciates. He’s always had a bad habit of making awkward silences appear, but with Chenle that never happens, conversations flowing smoothly between the two.

“So this is the park where twelve year old Jisung single handedly killed a very powerful monster to save the lives of one very nice, one quiet, and one very, very mean demigod,” Jisung spreads out his long arms, almost hitting Chenle in the chest, presenting the very normal looking park to the elder.

Chenle furrows his brows at him. “I don’t think you’ve ever told me that story.”

“Well, it’s kind of a sad one, basically I met Mark, Jeno, and Renjun here, killed a monster for them,” Jisung trails off, realizing where he’s going to have to go to finish the story, “the rest is whatever, it doesn’t really matter.”

Chenle looks concerned but doesn’t push the matter, and Jisung’s grateful for it. Jisung shakes his head, willing the memories to go away, and guides Chenle over to where it happened.

“This is where I opened up a giant hole straight to the underworld,” he’s a bit nervous telling Chenle this, not really knowing if he knows all of what Jisung’s capable of doing. Most people that know are either scared of him or think he’s some sort of monster.

He doesn’t want Chenle to think he’s a monster. Chenle’s always treated him like an equal, and he doesn’t want that to change.

“That’s… nice?” Jisung freezes, scared that he’s ruined everything, but Chenle takes one look at him and bursts into laughter. “Sorry, it’s just—,” he pauses, shaking his head, “this is where you first met your friends?”

“Yeah,” Jisung says lamely, not really sure of what else to say. 

Chenle smiles at him, somehow understanding that he doesn’t want to talk about it more, and looks around. “Are you hungry?”

“There’s an ice cream shop nearby, we can go there?” Jisung’s glad for the out that Chenle gave him, finally able to breathe easily.

Chenle nods and grabs ahold of his hand again, motioning for Jisung to lead the way.

“I used to go here a lot with my mom,” Jisung tells Chenle once they get their ice cream and sit down, “even back then I got vanilla, I guess I’ve always been boring.”

Chenle pouts. “You’re not boring if you were boring I wouldn’t like you.”

Jisung desperately wants to ask what he means by _like_ but he swallows it with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

-

The walk back to Chenle’s house is filled with laughter as they exchange funny stories about living at camp.

They’re still holding hands, and Jisung prays to the gods that his hands aren’t gross and sweaty. Chenle doesn’t seem to mind though, everytime he glances at their intertwined hands he smiles shyly and it makes Jisung feel the human emotion equivalent to an exclamation point.

Chenle’s smile dims when they reach his house, and Jisung feels the same way, not wanting the night to end. 

“Thank you for tonight,” Chenle squeezes his hand, “I really enjoyed seeing your home.”

Jisung doesn’t have the confidence to tell him that everywhere feels like home as long as Chenle’s with him. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, I can’t wait for you to show me around Camp Jupiter.”

“Next weekend,” Chenle promises while laughing. 

Jisung’s mind is screaming at him to do _something_ , hug him, or even _kiss him you loser—_

Chenle smiles at him, eyes shining brighter than all of the stars in the night sky. He looks down at their still intertwined hands shyly, thumb rubbing at the back of Jisung’s hand, and pulls him close. Jisung doesn’t have a moment to react before Chenle’s looking back up at him and leaning in, pressing a barely there kiss to his cheek.

He pulls away, sending him one last smile before turning away, letting go of Jisung’s hand. Jisung’s eyes widen, jolting forward to grab his hand again. “Wait—”

Chenle turns back around and looks at him, surprised. his mouth drops open to speak, but Jisung beats him to it. “Can I kiss you?” Jisung stutters out, immediately sucking in a breath in anticipation for the other’s answer.

“Please,” Chenle barely gets the word out before Jisung surges forward, capturing Chenle’s lips in a gentle kiss. It’s sloppy, Jisung’s inexperience bleeding into the kiss in a less than enjoyable way, but Chenle raises a hand to cup his cheek, guiding him in it, and Jisung forgets how to breathe.

Kissing Chenle is just as Jisung imagined it would be. Soft, gentle, making the hairs at the back of his neck stand up, but it’s also so much more incredible. Chenle smiles into the kiss, his other hand coming up to rest at the small of Jisung’s back, and Jisung instinctually grabs at his waist. 

Chenle pulls away first, eyes unfocused as they stare into Jisung’s own. “It was a date.”

“Yeah, it was a date,” Jisung breathes out, before pulling Chenle into another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i'm sorry it took so long and i promise jaemin and donghyuck will be in the next one!
> 
> also, i'm thinking about writing the prequel about how jisung met mark, jeno, and renjun so if you'd like that please let me know in the comments or in my curious cat!!!


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in this moment, in new rome with his new roman friends (and kinda boyfriend) and old greek friends, this is the happiest jisung's ever been.

Camp Jupiter is somehow exactly how Jisung pictured it and yet completely different. He checks off things as he walks around with Mark, Renjun, and Jeno—there’s the barracks where all the legionnaires live, the Field of Mars where they play their own death games, and New Rome, filled with the shops Chenle excitedly told him about, like his favorite bakery on the corner across from a boutique.

Jisung’s been trying to wrap his head around what’s missing that makes the place seem so off. It’s exactly the way Chenle described it but there’s something missing. It’s not until he’s sitting across from Chenle in a cafe with a view of the entire valley that he realizes what’s missing from this image of _home_ in his head. 

Funnily enough, Chenle was the thing that was missing from the equation.

Walking around camp with his friends was nice enough, but there’s something just so right about having Chenle next to him, mouth running a mile a minute pointing out all of his favorite places, his hand holding Jisung’s own. There’s a warm feeling traveling all around Jisung’s body, originating from their intertwined hands, and it’s only intensified when he turns his head to find Chenle already looking at him, head cocked to the side, silly smile on his face.

“You’re not listening to me, are you?” 

Jisung blushes. “Sorry, everything’s kinda overwhelming.”

“Well, I could take you to meet Jaemin and Donghyuck but I don’t think that’d be any less overwhelming,” Chenle swings their hands back and forth as he talks, and Jisung’s heart swells in his chest.

“I’d like that actually,” his words are sincere, and Chenle’s smile gets impossibly wider. “Wait, are you sure they’ll like me?”

Chenle laughs loudly, and no matter how annoying Jisung might find it at times he still loves it. “They love you, trust me.”

-

Chenle lied, Donghyuck and Jaemin don’t love him. 

He was even on his best behavior! For a son of Hades, that’s difficult, but he did it for Chenle, and what does he get? A son of Apollo and son of Venus glaring at him everytime he thinks about opening his mouth. 

Chenle’s the only one keeping the conversation going. everytime Jisung adds something it goes a little like this: Jisung opens his mouth. Jaemin glares at him. Jisung closes his mouth. Donghyuck glares at him.

And repeat.

Chenle, bless his heart, hasn’t noticed his friend’s clear distaste for Jisung. He’s chatting away, oblivious to how uncomfortable Jisung is. 

The situation gets worse when Chenle excuses himself to go to the bathroom.

“So,” the second Chenle disappears Jaemin turns to face him, “Jisung.”

Jisung’s fight or flight instincts activate, and even though he’s a son of Hades and can do things most people, hell most demigods, couldn’t imagine these two demigods have him more scared than any monster he’s ever faced.

“What are your intentions with our son,” Donghyuck pulls out a knife and begins playing with it.

Oh gods, they’re giving him the shovel talk.

“I uh—I like him and want to date him?” Jaemin eyes his shaking hands and smiles.

“Why are you so nervous Wungie, we’re not going to hurt you,” he clamps a hand on Jisung’s shoulder, shaking him a bit.

Jisung gulps, “I—I just really wanted you guys to like me because I knew it’d make Chenle happy and now seeing that you two obviously don’t it’s making me worried about his reaction.”

Jaemin’s smirk softens to a normal smile. “Hey, kid we’re just messing with you.”

“Chenle fucking adores you, we wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize things with you,” Donghyuck throws his knife towards the wall, smirking when it sinks in.

“Oh, okay.”

The conversation after that flows smoothly. Chenle’s smile after he got Jaemin and Donghyuck to laugh at one of his stupid jokes made everything worth it. Jisung has never seen Chenle this bright. 

Chenle never fails to take his breath away, with how beautiful he is and how much he cares about Jisung. He’s the most wonderful person Jisung’s ever met, he probably doesn’t deserve the elder, but he can’t focus too much on that.

He makes Chenle happy, and vice versa. That’s all that matters.

-

Dinner was a mess.

Just imagine it: four Greeks and three Romans sitting in a diner in New Rome.

Donghyuck and Renjun hit it off while Jaemin sat at the end of the table pouting.

(“Hey Jisung,” Jaemin whispered to him once everyone got seated, “who’s the pretty boy?”

He looks over his shoulder at his friends. “They’re all pretty, which one.”

Jaemin discreetly points over at Renjun.

Well shit, this is going to be the worst dinner ever.) 

Chenle laughs at Jaemin, leaning into Jisung, a hand on his knee. He leans in closer, placing his mouth by Jisung’s ear. “Jaemin has a crush.”

“I would wish him luck, but Renjun has a thing against children of Aphro—I mean Venus,” he whispers back, tucking Chenle’s bangs behind his ear.

Chenle looks at him quizzically. “Why?”

Jisung thinks back to the quest where he first met the trio, and their encounter with Aphrodite herself and shivers. “Long story, I’ll tell you sometime later.”

He nods and tucks himself into Jisung’s side, leaning all of his weight on him. Jisung peers down at him, only able to see the top of his head, and smiles.

In this moment, in New Rome with his new Roman friends (and kinda boyfriend) and old Greek friends, this is the happiest he’s ever been. 

-

“Jaemin wants to be praetor,” Chenle tells him later when they’re walking around New Rome, hands intertwined yet again.

Jisung thinks back to the conversation earlier, and how Jaemin has this regal air to him that makes you want to listen to him. He’s nice and understanding, able to joke freely, but knows when to be serious. There’s something about him that screams leader.

“I think he’d be a great praetor,” Jisung says softly, swinging their arms slightly.

Chenle beams. “I know, he’s probably going to become one when one of the current praetor’s retire.”

“What does Donghyuck want to do?” 

“Kick ass, find a pretty boyfriend,” Chenle lists off, and Jisung laughs, “actually, I think he wants to be a teacher. Leading isn’t really his style, he prefers to be a brat and going against the man, but he loves kids and wants to be a good figure in their lives if that makes sense.”

Donghyuck’s so much more than he thought, even after meeting him. Jisung wants to get closer to him and Jaemin, he’s in desperate need of new friends after spending the last gods know how many years hanging around the Hags (Mark, Renjun, and Jeno).

“What do you want to do?” he asks, pausing in front of a bench and leading Chenle to sit down.

Chenle thinks for a moment. “I don’t know yet. What I do know is that I want to see you more often.”

“That can be arranged,” Jisung shifts closer to him of the bench. The street lights reflect in Chenle’s eyes, making it look like there are tiny individual stars in them. Chenle smiles and leans in.

Jisung’s favorite past time has slowly shifted from kicking monster ass to kissing Chenle. His lips are soft and plump, and he’s experienced. Also, he’s somehow managed to figure out what Jisung likes after only a few kisses. Overachiever. 

They pull apart after a while, one question burned onto Jisung’s tongue. Chenle rests his forehead against his own.

“Will you be my boyfriend?” Jisung says in an exhale.

Chenle’s eyes are still closed, and he giggles. “Yeah, I’d like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am. so sorry this took so long i'm literally the worst. but thank you so much for reading this and enjoying it! i'm writing the markno + renjun and jisung spinoff (prequel? idk) so hopefully that'll be up by the end of the century

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/nctskz) // [cc](https://curiouscat.me/vampjeno)


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